History Is My Favorite Subject
by ebroshair
Summary: A new teacher arrives at Sourdin High and quickly makes an impact on Cosima Niehaus' life.
1. Chapter 1: The New One

**Chapter One: The New One**

She rolls over in her bed that is far too large for one person, far too lonely. She spends a couple of moments rubbing the tired from her eyes and lets loose a sigh.

A sleepy hand searches her bedside table for her glasses, while the other pulls back the blankets. With her second pair of eyes now on, she sits at the edge of the bed, letting a large yawn escape and stretching her back as far as her body would allow. After leisurely maneuvering around the house getting ready, Cosima Niehaus shuffles all five feet and four inches of herself out the door, with a blueberry muffin and a travel mug in hand.

With the door shutting behind her, the apartment loses its glow. The way the light is flooding in, you can see the dust floating in the air. With no one there to tap the faucet, the inconsistent sound of dripping water fills the room. The only artificial light in the residence is coming from the tv that she fell asleep to and her clock that read _7:34._To say the least, it was boring.

That didn't last long because not even two minutes later the door opens again. Jogging over to her cluttered desk, she grabs her car keys and leaves. If there's anything you should know about this naive and intelligent woman, it's that you can never count on her to be prepared. And under no circumstance should you ever count on her to be on time.

Her driving skills could be described in many different ways but 'safe' is not one of them. There's not a single living soul on this planet, that could tell you how Cosima got her license. As she makes a right onto the main street, she's already broken three laws. With only her knee to keep her inside of the lines, Cosima takes out her makeup and starts applying the cosmetics. Since she's nearly a professional at doing both, she finishes just in time to put everything away and to "tap" on the breaks once she enters the parking lot. Slinging her bag over her shoulder and throwing away the rest of her muffin, she walks through the doors of Sourdin High School at 8:03 a.m. , which happens to be the closest she's ever been to being on time.

As she quickly makes her way down the hallway, she wonders if her sophomore class is sleeping or doing their homework. Lost in thought, Ms. Niehaus almost doesn't hear the sound of loose papers flying from her bag. As she stops to pick up her papers, she happens to glance in one of the classrooms and finds an unfamiliar face struggling to put up posters.

_A new teacher in the middle of the year? Weird._

She gathers what escaped from her bag and pokes her head in room 7a.

She notices that the new history teacher has some pretty impressive hair and is just a few inches taller than herself.

"Excuse me? Hey um awkward, I'm Cosima;Cosima Niehaus. I teach sophomore biology just a few doors down in 11b? Uh, do you need any help with that? I'd be more than happy to, you know, help."

She was expecting a lot of things when this new teacher turned around but she has to admit that 'cute' wasn't on her list. The fact that she also cursed in French as she dropped her posters could've surprised her too.

"Merdé"

Amused by the sudden French escaping from the blonde's lips, Cosima laughed and poked her tongue through her teeth. The new teacher immediately turned a lovely shade of red and Cosima went over to help pick up the posters.

"Oh wow, I'm so sorry! I totally didn't mean to scare you, my bad."

"No, no it's ok, it's my fault. I didn't see you come in to begin with."

There's something about her voice that makes Cosima smile to herself. It may be the fact that it sounds so small and shy or it could've been the French accent itself, but whatever it is, Cosima definitely wouldn't mind hearing more of it.

As they're both kneeling down and gathering what'd been dropped, Cosima notices that this woman has the biggest brown eyes she's ever seen. After giving herself a few seconds to marvel, she stands up and hands over the laminated motivators.

"Sorry…again but uh, do you want me to-"

"Oh, no I'm all good, there's not many left and I can manage by myself but thank you for offering."

There's barely a second of silence before the sound of loafers start coming closer and closer to the room.

"Niehaus! Don't you have first period right now?"

"Wha-Oh uh yes sir I do, . I'll be seeing myself to class."

"If you're late one more time ,Cosima, we'll have to schedule an appointment." His stern green eyes, curly brown hair, and his defined jawline was nothing compared to the new teacher's, whose name still evades her.

"Well? Get a move on!"

And with that he sharply turned on his heels and continued on his journey tormenting the rest of the staff.

"I gotta head to class but I'll definitely see you around!" Cosima dashed from the room and ran as fast as her heels could carry her down the hall, with her bag hitting against the small of her back with every step.

As she slows down a few feet from her door, she glances at her watch.

_8:07…Well there goes my personal record_

She flings open the door to her room and finds that half of her class is ,indeed, asleep while the other half is on their phones.

"Hey guys, everyone up and phones away. I have some good news for you. Since I didn't grade your tests from yesterday, I'll do that today during class and ,uh, meanwhile you guys are gonna watch "The Andromeda Strain"…sound good? Not really a school advised movie so if someone comes in everyone raise your hands."

Receiving cheers and other positive feedback as a response, she popped in the movie and started grading.

The thing with Cosima is that this sort of thing happens all the time…meaning almost every class. See, that's one reason why she's the favorite teacher of nearly all the kids at Sourdin High. She teaches in a way where it doesn't feel like learning to the kids; it feels like games. She can't remember the last time one of her students finished the year with a 79% or lower. Cosima's mindset is that if you make learning the material fun and easy, everyone's sure to pass the class with ease.

The bell rings and releases the students for a fifteen minute break, which she so happens to be on duty for.

Cosima makes her way over to where the freshman's p.e. coach, Mr. Hendrix, is leaning against the wall. Just her luck that she's put with Hendrix all week. It's not she doesn't like him,well as a matter of fact she _doesn't_, but he's always complaining about how his wife doesn't do what he tells her to do and how she expects him to help out once in a while but he just responds by saying it's her job to do the chores. He's in the wrong ,all the time, and that's one of many things he can't understand. To be frank, he's a sexist monkey who wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for his wife.

"Cosima! How's it goin'? I heard you were late again this morning. Were you busy making my lunch?"

He chuckles to himself (yes, people really do chuckle) and Cosima feels the blood rise to her face. This is a daily thing, whether she's on duty with him or not. However, she lets the remark slide but not without retorting.

"Sorry Donnie, but after seeing you eat yesterday I thought you were done for the winter."

A smile creeps across her face as his falls.

"No need to get so defensive, Niehaus. Learn how to take a joke."

She remains next to him and stands in silence for a few moments before hearing his disturbing voice break their silence.

"Well I'll be damned. If I'd known that our new teacher ,Delphine, was this hot I would've made my way over to her room this morning."

"Shut up, Don…leave her alone."

"Don't get so jealous, my god. You may be the student favorite but she's _my staff_ favorite for sure."

After making his hideous remark, he leaves to follow _Delphine_ to wherever she's headed. Cosima scoffs in disbelief and sits on the bench ,that's to her left, with nothing better to do than supervise 1000+ students for 8 more minutes.


	2. Chapter 2: It's a Date

**Chapter 2: It's A Date?**

Since she only has three classes a day, Cosima uses her spare time to figure out ways she could get to know the new teacher better. As time ticks on and as classes disband, she's running out of ideas. When the final bell rings and the kids leave for the day, she sighs in defeat and spins in her chair a couple of times.

She packs up her bag, grabs her mug, and makes her way out of the classroom, completely forgetting the fact that she was supposed to monitor what she had to drink, she takes a sip and automatically regrets it.

The cold coffee hits her mouth and she feels the need to spit it out but is forced to swallow when there's no trash can near her. Trying not to cough, she makes her way down the hall and happens to see the now familiar blonde leave her room. After experiencing the coffee and seeing her, she gets an idea. Cosima jogs down the hall hoping that she'll reach the teacher in time (which she does).

Only a few feet behind the blonde, Cosima makes her presence known.

"Hey, me again."

Delphine stops and turns her head to meet the dreadlocked teacher.

"Bonjour, Cosima. How are you?

"Oh, I'm great….thanks for asking! You?"

"I've just been very busy and stressed if I must admit. Transferring in the middle of the school year is always difficult, you know?"

"Yeah, of course!. Hey, uh, Delphine. You're new to the area and I was wondering if you wanted to get some coffee? With me...maybe"

With a lopsided smile she holds her hands together in front of her giving the illusion that she might be praying.

"That sounds very nice! Would you like to go now?"

"If you're ready, we could totally head over!"

"We shall. It's a date."

Feeling what could be the starting of fluttering in her stomach, Cosima nods with her signature smile and lifts her head, leaving her hair to swing against her back.

"Let's get going."

"This is lovely, Cosima! Where did you find it?"

"Well I come here every Thursday after school for a couple of hours. I try to come Mondays too but it doesn't always work out."

"I see. So you're , what they call, a regular?"

"I guess you could say that"

They share a smile and drink.

They both look out the window and watch as people pass by. Delphine has a soft glow to her and Cosima starts to think that they should come here more often. She watches as the blonde rests her chin on her hand leaving Cosima to see her quarter profile. She hadn't noticed it before, but there seems to be specks and dashes of green in her eyes and small, hardly noticeable splashes of freckles scattered over her cheeks. The light from the cafe that seems to have turned golden, perfectly illuminates the faint smile that rests peacefully on Delphine's face.

Her hair looks beautiful, if Cosima must admit, as the loops of curls settles on top of her shoulders.

She doesn't notice when Delphine turns to face her or even when she's actually spoken to but she does notice when there's a soft touch on her hand.

"Cosima?"

Completely embarrassed and stumbling for words, Cosima barely manages to put together a sentence.

"I-uh-sorry I was just- I was...thinking. Sorry."

She was shocked at how soft her hand was against her own. The first thing Cosima thought of was rose petals and how those felt. Cosima's never touched a rose but she could only imagine. She was flustered and "caught by surprise" which causes a brilliant shade of pink to rise to her cheeks resulting in a small laugh from the woman opposite of her.

"Oh no it's fine, I was just thinking myself and asked you how long you've been working at the high school."

"Umm I haven't been here long but I gotta say just over two years, so I'm still fairly new."

"Really? From the way the students talk about you and what the other teachers have told me, I would've guessed that you've been there for quite some time."

"No, not really but I guess that's a good thing to hear, right?"

They laugh together and they continue talking for two more hours. Delphine learns that Cosima has three sisters plus a foster brother and a niece. On the other hand, Cosima learns that Delphine doesn't have much family. Her mother is back in France with her older brother and she's here with her dad. Besides them, that's all she has.

They've been conversing back and forth like they've known each other for a while when Cosima's phone buzzes.

Sarah: Hey, where are you? _sent 7:13 p.m._

Sarah: Felix's dinners in half an hour and Alisons almost home. She's gonna blow her top if you're not here by the time she is. _sent 7:13 p.m._

"Oh my god, Delphine, I'm so sorry. I have to get going, I have my brother's birthday dinner soon and Alison is gonna lose it if I'm not home."

"Yes, yes of course! I'm sorry, I didn't realize how late it got."

And with that, the two of them left the cafe with a bounce in their step that wasn't existent before.

She runs up the steps to her brother in laws loft and turns the corner and faces the large door that everyone is familiar with.

She straightens her red coat and flattens the wrinkles from her dress and takes a deep breath; preparing herself for the wrath of Alison. She slowly slides open the door and quietly steps in. She catches Sarah's eye and she's met with a wicked smirk. She finds Felix and her niece ,Kira, admiring his paintings.

There's no sight of Alison.

She takes off her coat and hangs it on the hook and lays down on the couch when a wild-haired Sarah walks towards sinks down as Kira runs over to her and flings herself onto Cosima's stomach. Felix laughs from the back and Kira situates herself to where she's laying down between Cosima and the couch.

"Hey, monkey, how's it going?"

"It's going alright. Uncle Felix says that mummys gonna be mad at you, though.

"Is that so?"

She looks up at Sarah with sorry eyes and her sister looks down at her with eyes of amusement.

"Not quite."

"Hey, Sarah. Sorry, I was caught up in something and it went longer than I thought."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Alison. She's pretty pissed off from the looks of it."

"Wait, she's here?"

"Yes, Cosima. I'm here. No need to apologize, just make sure you're ready to eat. You haven't already eaten have you?"

Turning quickly in her seat on the couch, Cosima sees a tight-lipped Alison in the corner of the kitchen.

"No no, of course not."

"Good. Well it seems that Donnie has eaten, hasn't it."

"He told you, why wouldn't he...What? He was acting like a total ass; He had it coming."

Alison places three fingers on her forehead and drops her head for a moment. She then straightens herself out and swiftly turns around, facing the cabinet. She opens the door and reaches on the top shelf, getting hold of a wine glass. Alison waves her hand over her shoulder and shakes her head.

"No. We are not talking about Donnie tonight. This is a no Donnie zone."

She opens a bottle of white wine and pours herself a glass and takes a sip before she even releases the bottle.

"Bloody hell, Cos. You got her starting early."


	3. Chapter 3: Two Different Worlds

**Chapter 3: Two Different Worlds**

It's been a good couple of weeks since Delphine has jumped on board at the school. She's no longer considered new and she easily fit in with the teachers at Sourdin. Cosima and Delphine have grown much closer since their little "date" and all the teachers have taken notice. Sometimes during passing period, Cosima would pass the health teacher, Paul, in the hallways and he'd make a remark about how she's "got game", whatever that means. Other times during break, Donnie would come up next to her and ask her when she's going to invite her over for dinner to meet the family. She'd ignore him and walk to the other side of the lot just to avoid him. Then there's Scott, the sophomore chemistry teacher, who legitimately believed they were 'd been at the end of the school day and Cosima was walking to her car when he'd poked his head out of his room.

"_Hey. Hey, Cosima."_

_She stopped and looked around for the source of the whispering and found him looking at her from his room. She raised her arms as if to ask what he was calling her for and he looked up and down the halls before he ran over to her, his coat flapping behind him._

"_Hey, Cosima."_

"_Yes, Scott._

"_Cosima."_

_Since he hardly talks to any of the female teachers on campus, he sort of lacked that social skill._

"_What is it, Scott. Spit it out."_

"_Sorry…."_

_Raising an eyebrow, she waited for him to continue before she shook her head in disbelief and slapped him in the arm._

"_Speak, I have to get home."_

"_Oh, yeah. I just wanted to tell you that you're really lucky. She's definitely a keeper"_

"_I'm sorry, what?"_

"_Delphine. She's really pretty and-I have to go."_

_He turned and ran back down the hall to 11C and disappeared through the doorway. Cosima stood there for a moment, questioning whether or not that conversation actually happened before she spun on her heels and saw Delphine stapling some reminders to the bulletin board outside of her room._

When the lunch bell sounds, she tries to neatly pile her papers before making off for the teachers lounge. Eventually she gets everything organized enough and when she gets there, she opens the door and is met with Paul's loud voice.

"- is this Friday at 5:00 p.m. Don't forget! Last year's turnout wasn't the best as only a quarter of us showed up so let's try and get that number up and aim for half. I can't force you to go but it's a fun experience, the more the merrier."

_He's talking about the annual fundraiser. I'm not going. Well, I should. Maybe if Delphine goes, I'll go. Wait, but if she's not, maybe I should ask her to go with me. This isn't prom, Niehaus what are you doing. You're not going and that's that._

Cosima looks up and scans the room for Delphine and can't find her until she looks to her left and finds Scott looking in front of himself. She follows his stare and finds Delphine at the end of it. Their eyes meet and she's given a warm smile that wouldn't have meant anything if it had been anyone else, but since it was Delphine, it was somehow better. She looks back at Scott and he's still looking at her so Cosima stares at him until he sees her. When he does, she narrows her eyes and slightly raises an eyebrow. He puts his head down and moves to the other side of the room. She looks back at Delphine and the latter motions for Cosima to come over to meet her. That feeling of fluttering comes back and Cosima can't help but smile.

_I'm definitely going._

Paul's voice trails off and eventually the teachers scatter as some eat in the room and as others retreat back to their own. She pushes her way to the oncoming herd of teachers and eventually makes her way to where Delphine stands.

"Hey, Delphine."

"Bonjour, Cosima. So are you going to this party?"

"Me? Yeah, of course I am."

Sitting behind Delphine, Donnie coughs the word "Liar" and Cosima glares at him before he laughs to himself and continues eating what's probably his sixth sandwich.

"Would you mind if we went together? Although I know most of the teachers, I'd still like to be with someone I'm more familiar with. If that's alright with you?"

"Oh, totally. I'd love to."

"I can't wait. Goodbye."

Before she makes off for her classroom, she rests a hand on Cosima's arm and places a small peck on her cheek before smiling one last time. When she's gone, Cosima's arm tingles and her face is warm. She thinks that she could really get used to having this girl around. She spins to leave the teacher's lounge but pauses and turns back to Donnie.

"Hey, Donnie."

He looks back at her with an annoyed expression splattered across his face.

She pushes the word "asshole" out of her lungs as she forces a cough, just as he did a few minutes earlier.

She leaves the room wearing a smirk that everyone's grown accustomed to.

Friday finally rolls around and Cosima's never been this excited for the world's most boring party. Right after school, she jets home, and changes into a gray patterned shirt with a light patterned scarf to match, corduroy red pants with ankle booties, and a dark gray sweater over it all. After she's dressed (in record time might she add) she runs to the store before going back to school at 4:50 on the dot.

She hadn't intended to go to the store but when she realized it wouldn't be polite to show up and not have anything for Delphine, she thought it best to grab something.

Arriving at the market, she grabs a basket and strolls through aisle after aisle. She reaches the valentines day gifts and pauses. She sets back into motion but each step is slower that the previous until she comes to another stop right in front of a teddy bear holding a flower in one paw. She looks at it and debates whether or not to get it.

_Ehh it's a harmless gift, why not._

She picks up the bear and a small box of chocolates ,that's enough for two, and checks out.

For the first time in her life, she was on time for something, and this something happened to be nothing extraordinary. This is all just a little arrangement she and Delphine made so that they could walk in together. Pulling into a parking spot at exactly 4:48, she opens her mirror and makes sure her eyeliner game is on point. She shuts the mirror and get's out with the teddy bear and chocolate behind her back.

As she's about to sit down on the front steps, she spots some wild, curly hair in a car a couple spots down from her. Recognizing it as Delphine's, she anxiously waits to meet her. She watches the girl step from the car , looking quite warm and very stylish (in Cosima's opinion) in her brown knee high boots, black pants, blue blouse, and black jacket.

She's smiling bright as she makes her way over ,and when she approaches, Cosima immediately pulls out the chocolate and hands it to her.

"I got you a little something that I thought you might enjoy."

"Cosima, this is my favorite chocolate! It's been so long since I've last had it. It's odd to say but it brings back memories…"

"Can I assume that they're good memories?"

"Oh, well, not quite...it's just that my ex used to buy me this chocolate all of the time and now that he's gone, I haven't really had the appetite for it…"

Hearing the word _he_ leave her lips, made Cosima's stomach drops to depths she thought were impossible. She feels nauseous and her mouth goes dry. Delphine sits down on the step and opens the box while humming to herself. Just as she does so, Cosima excuses herself to her car. Making sure the bear stays hidden from Delphine, she unlocks her car and sits inside. She sets the stuffed animal on her lap and rests her head on the steering wheel with hands on either side.

_What the hell is your problem? It's just one dumb crush, get over it._

It's her own words that make her snap her head up.

_Whoa. I don't have feelings for her, that's totally insane. I mean yeah, of course, she's hella nice and super pretty but no, I don't. Even if I did it wouldn't be that come on Cosima, you know better...But what's the harm in not telling her?_

She puts the bear in the backseat and retreats back to the steps.

Holding a hand out for the taller girl, she offers to help her up. Accepting the offer, Delphine rises from her seat and holds onto Cosima's arm.

At 4:57, the two of them walk into the doors of something neither of them were expecting. Cosima walks into a world of heartbreak and Delphine walks into a world of confusion.


	4. Chapter 4: Don't Panic

**Chapter 4: Don't Panic**

They walk through the deserted halls until the see the lights flowing softly from under the gym step at a time, they make their way down to the entrance. Cosima takes a step forward and unravels her arm from Delphine's as she opens the door for her. Inside the find nothing particularly eye catching and Cosima thinks that it might be worse than last years.

To the far right corner of the gym, they see a group of three teachers chatting amongst themselves while another group of 3 are seated at a round table. In front of the bleachers that have been folded back, Paul is speaking to the "DJ" (school janitor) and is showing him something on his phone. Cosima counts the amount of staff members three times over and releases a sigh of relief when she can't find sign of Donnie anywhere. The last thing she would want is for him to ruin her night with Delphine.

Delphine suggests that maybe they should get a drink and pulls Cosima ,by the hand, to the beverage table. They both grab the simplest of drinks (punch) and sit at an empty table.

"Is it always like this?"

"If by _this_ you mean boring, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but yeah."

She makes a small "_oh_" and continues to look around the room. The flickering lights that are giving the building an eerie glow seem to finally be working when it comes to Delphine. Cosima looks at her and can practically feel the softness of her skin. Through the loud music that's blaring from the speakers, she can still hear her calm breaths. Despite only seeing half of her face, she can still see the way the lights sparkle in her eyes; the faint smile across her face.

Delphine slightly turns her head and ,from the corner of her eye, looks at Cosima and spreads that smile a little bit wider. She's amazed at what such a simple thing could do to a person when she finds herself smiling back.

She feels a tap on her left shoulder and turns to find the body connected to the hand. She's met with nothing but air and when she turns back, Donnie is leaning on the table with his back towards Cosima, talking to Delphine. She looks around him and is met with uncomfortable eyes. Cosima could easily see that Delphine is trying to be kind but with Donnie, that sort of stuff doesn't work.

"I see you made it."

"Yes, yes I did come. With Cosima."

"Well...I don't see any talking happening so why do we head over to the little boys room and maybe have a conversation of our own."

"Oh no thank you. That's not necessary I'm having a wonderful time now so I don't see any reason to disturb that."

"You sure about that sweetheart?"

"Yeah she's sure. Leave us alone."

"Oh hey Cosima! Didn't see you there."

"Just...go away we're fine."

"Well are you sure the lady doesn't want me to stay a bit? Why don't we ask."

"I don't need to ask her to tell that she's uncomfortable. It's obvious that we both want you to leave. Why don't you go walk the streets and look for someone else to harass."

They stare at each other for a moment before he releases a frustrated groan and slaps the table. Admitting his defeat he walks away with one hand in his pocket and the other scratching his chin.

"Thank you. I didn't know-"

"Of course. He's just being an asshole like always."

Delphine pats the top of Cosima's hand with her own and turns to her to tell the story of how at her last school, a junior was constantly asking another student to the dance after being repeatedly rejected by said student. He never gave up and eventually she had to sit him down with his parents and have a discussion with them about his behavior.

When she finishes telling her story, Cosima excuses herself to go to the restroom.

As Cosima exits, she finds that the table is empty and scans the room for her. She sees Delphine at the refreshment table and there's someone with her.

She makes her way over to Delphine and finds that she's in the middle of what looks like a funny conversation with Paul. As she gets closer she hears something she wishes hadn't.

"So how about it? Would you like to go on a date sometime? Maybe tomorrow or next week?"

She sees Delphine smile and look to the side before resting her eyes on Paul again.

Cosima's ears start to buzz and the same gut wrenching feeling she felt earlier in the car returns. She takes a wine bottle and makes her way across the gym and out the backdoors.

It's gotten much colder and the air starts to sting her skin as she sits out there on a bench. She manages to open the bottle and when she does, she rotates the cork in her hand a few times before throwing it at a nearby trashcan (it doesn't go in) before taking a swig.

She reaches in her pocket and pulls out her phone and debates whether or not to call Sarah.

She decides against it and opens Facebook. As she scrolls she finds a picture of Sarah and her boyfriend ,Cal, at a lake. Not much further down Felix posted a video of Kira decorating the cookies he and Alison made.

Suddenly she feels a bit alone.

Behind her, the door opens and she hears the clack of heels hitting concrete behind her. She doesn't bother turning around because she knows exactly who it is and doesn't really feel like talking to her for some unknown reason.

Soon after the door closes, Delphine walks around the bench and sits down next to her. She leans back, pressing her back to the metal, and watches Cosima as she looks out at the lunch tables ahead. As she watches her, the bottle is placed on the ground, and Cosima leans back to match. Delphine takes the bottle and lifts it to her lips before taking a drink. She sets the bottle back down and looks up at the sky.

They sit in silence and listen to the sounds around them; muffled music from inside the gym, car horns from down the street, and the distant sounds of barking dogs. After a minute or two, Cosima sighs and acknowledges the fact that Delphine is most likely confused as to why she disappeared and hasn't spoken yet.

"Sorry."

Looking at Cosima she gives a small smile. "I didn't come outside for an apology, Cosima."

"Oh, ok, so you came for an explanation,right?"

"No."

She turns to Delphine and furrows her eyebrows a bit.

"I came to make sure you were okay."

She laughs to herself. "Thanks, but I'm fine."

Delphine takes a breath and looks forward. She pulls her coat tighter around her and plays with the bottom button. The stars are plentiful and the moon is bright. Delphine wonders how they look to Cosima. She wonders how the stars feel looking down at them. She wonders if the moon is jealous by the shine in Cosima's eyes and if the stars surrounding are envious of the sparkle she displays every time she smiles.

"I don't know...No one has given you any space since you got here, I mean, everyone has been flocking to you and invading your space and it's not cool. Paul, Donnie, me-"

"I don't mind you at all. In fact...I'd prefer it be _you_ around me than anyone else."

Cosima turns her head and hides the incoming rosiness into her shoulder, facing away from Delphine. Meanwhile, the blonde has a smile resting on her face, looking somewhat proud of herself for making the other girl react the way she did.

Delphine takes one last breathe and as she watches the air from her lungs float about in the air, she places a soft hand on Cosma's.

"Why don't we leave. Why don't we go somewhere else, huh?"

Cosima lifts her head and glances at their hands before meeting Delphine's eyes.

"Yeah, of course! I think there might be an event at the park that we could check out..."

"I was thinking maybe we could go to your house? You know, just to relax. Maybe watch a movie…?"

There's a trace of hopefulness in her voice as she asks. Cosima smiles at her and almost..._giggles_, before she takes Delphine's hand and takes her back in the gym. In advance to exiting, they go to the refreshment table and take two bottles of wine as they start off on a run out the front doors, clumsily bumping into each other as they go.

The two of them had gotten to Cosima's apartment in one car, Cosima's car to be exact, and hadn't really done much when they got settled.

Hours later, the tv is throwing shadows across the room as the colors change between light and dark. Opposite from the tv, Cosima is lying down sleeping, with her head resting on the arm of the couch as Delphine ,whom is also asleep, is comfily settled between the sleeping girl and the back of the couch. One lanky leg is intertwined with a shorter one as the fingers of one hand are intertwined with the fingers of another.

She lifts her head and groans when the sun hits her eyes from between the curtains. Her ears adjust and Cosima realizes that they'd left the tv on all night. As she moves to grab the remote, the weight of another body that's half-resting on her own, is noticed. She freezes but only for a moment prior to looking down and finding a head full of curls resting on her stomach. She remains there, unmoving, hoping to not wake up the sleeping girl. She only gets a few minutes to enjoy the situation before she starts to stir awake.

A lazy hand drifts up Cosima's right side and across her stomach as it goes to rub tired eyes. Legs untangle themselves, as do fingers, and Delphine pushes herself up. Cosima's not afraid ,nor ashamed, to admit that she _is_ a bit disappointed when the taller girl sits upright.

"Good morning, sleepy head."

"Bonne matinee, Cosima."

Cosima's not sure if she's seen anything more beautiful in the morning. Delphine's hair is flopped over to one side and her shirt is hanging off her shoulder just a tad. With one arm supporting her up, she uses the other hand to continue to work her eye. When she's done, she looks at Cosima with those big brown eyes that Cos has come to adore, and gives an awry smile. Cosima swears that her heart is capable of flying out of her chest at any given moment.

Not even an hour later and Delphine is standing at the front door with her coat and bag in hand.

"Thank you, for the wonderful night; I definitely didn't expect something like this but...I enjoyed it."

"Any time, any time! I'm glad you had fun. I should probably drive you back to school to get your car...give me a sec?"

She's just about to turn around when Delphine objects.

"No, you don't have to. I'll just take a cab, it's not far. I appreciate your offer though, it is very kind of you."

"Oh, ok well...just let me know when you get home! So I know you're safe."

Delphine nods and leans in to Cosima's ear.

"Goodbye, Cosima."

She places a soft kiss to her cheek and turns as she walks down the hall.

Cosima softly shuts the door and leans her back against it.

_I really didn't think this one through._


	5. Chapter 5: That Moment When

_**Chapter 5: That Moment When You're Not Sure What Just Happened**_

"_Felix"_

"_What is-"_

"_FELIX ?"_

"_YES, yes I'm here darling just talk already my god"_

"_You need to come over here and help me...with stuff."_

"_What kind of stuff"_

"_It doesn't matter it's an emergency just hurry up"_

"_Well bloody hell Cos you've got to give me more information than that. Are you alright? What's wrong? Should I call Sarah?"_

"_NO don't call her just hurry. Please."_

Cosima's sitting in front of her bed twirling the fringe of her rug between her fingers when she hears a knock. Due to the fact that her hips are stiff from sitting for so long, she slowly gets up but manages to do a small hop followed by a swift walk to the door. She cracks it open and stares at a concerned Felix looking at her through the small opening.

"_Well are you planning on letting me in anytime soon or am I just gonna camp out in the hallway all night."_

"_Oh yeah sorry come in."_

He walks in and takes off his coat before he sits himself down on her computer chair. He folds the coat over his arm and places it over her laptop keyboard.

"_Cosima what's wrong. It better be something worth being wrecked about because I had to walk all the way here and if you weren't aware that's far too long of a walk for me."_

"_Okay well actually-"_

"_Please don't tell me this was a waste of my time"_

"_Not entirely!"_

Felix groans and leans back in the chair and a small squeak is heard.

"_Alright...continue…"_

" _Well...There's this new teacher and I kinda sorta have a really big crush on her."_

" _Oh my how frightening."_

The sarcasm in his voice earns him a glare from Cosima but he continues.

"_Just ask her out I don't see why we couldn't' discuss this over the phone."_

"_Okay but Felix I sort of already did?"_

As she tells him about the coffee shop and everything between that moment and them sitting in her apartment, Felix is on the edge of his seat looking more interested than he's looked in the past few months. As she finishes talking she goes over to her bed and sits on the edge.

"_So you have a crush on a straight. You've gotten one to date you before I'm still a bit lost,"_

"_But dude….I really like her and I don't know what to do ? Just give me some advice i don't know."_

"_Alright alright….well… just ask her to go out for a drink, yeah? That doesn't sound too suspicious. But in my honest opinion it really sounds like you've gotten yourself in a tough situation, doesn't it sister ?"_

Cosima sighs and lets herself fall backwards. She slips her fingers under her glasses and rubs at her eyes till they're all red. Then she intertwines her fingers and places them on top of her head.

"_So...I'm late to Alison's. She's decided to have another dinner. I guess this time she has an important announcement."_

"_Okay..yeah alright. Well I guess I'll talk to you later then...thanks for coming and discussing my love life problems for the past hour and a half."_

"_Oh no no no you're coming with me. She said she tried telling you about this and you never responded. Haven't you checked your email?"_

"_Well yeah I have, but all of her emails go to spam. I marked her as that once she started sending out weekly rants about whatever it is that goes on with the other moms."_

"_Very good for you but go get dressed. She's probably gonna lose it when we get there."_

"_Alright. So I've decided that it's time I tell you something I've been struggling with for a while now."_

Sarah leans forward and places one hand next to her plate."

"_Is everything alright ?"_

"_Yes, yes...well actually I'm not sure..."_

Alison let's a small frown settle on her face as she looks away from Sarah and at the wall to her right.

"_Donnie and I got a divorce two and a half months ago. Well 73 days but who's counting. I just got so tired of him always looking at other women when we'd be out. And he never took care of himself ! He left everything to me and of course I didn't mind taking care of the children but still. He has to help at some point, right?"_

Cosima lets out a laugh and Felix is wearing an enormous smile. Meanwhile Sarah stumbles for words but has a proud expression.

They sit there for a moment before Felix stands.

"_Well grab your glasses we're making a bloody toast after that announcement."_

This time she let it reach the second ring before hanging up. She's tried calling Delphine four times and that's the farthest she's gotten.

_It's not a big deal...friends go out for drinks all the time come on just call her._

She presses redial and she let's the phone ring

Once

Twice

Three times

and she hangs up.

_Nope, nope. I can't do it. I'll just suffer and admire from my position as a friend. She doesn't need to know. I'm perfectly fine._

She sets the phone down and walks to her laptop and sits down as she continues grading long overdue papers. After almost a minute, she slams down the pen and rests her head on the keyboard. The screen shows an abundance of letters mainly consisting of g and h. She groans and gets up letting her arms flop around. It's almost like she's forcing herself to call. Well.. she is… but at the same time she isn't. She is because all she can think about is making a fool of herself or having Delphine say no. She isn't forcing it because she really really _really _ wants this date.

She walks to the phone and sits on the bench under her window and dials the number again. This time she lets it ring until she hears a click and small hello on the other end.

"_Hello? Delphine ?"_

"_Cosima? How are you?"_

"_Oh I'm good… I've just been catching up on some grading but nothing really..you?"_

" _I've actually been doing the same, yes…"_

There's an awkward pause and Cosima clears her throat and ends up choking on her own spit.

"_Oh my, Cosima are you alright?"_

"_Well I almost choked to death but yeah I'm good."_

Cosima lightly hits her head and puts her hand up as if to ask herself what she was thinking.

"_I actually called to ask you a question…"_

"_Oh , well I'd like to answer it."_

" _Would you wanna go grab a drink sometime? There's this small bar right by Southwick Park, if you know where that is."_

"_Of course! That's not too far from where I live! Do you think tomorrow would work? We wouldn't have work the next day so it shouldn't be a problem, oui?"_

"_Yeah! That sounds great actually. Do you wanna meet at 10:30?"_

"_I don't see why not. I'll be there."_

Cosima is pretty sure she can _hear _ Delphine smile from her end.

"_Great. I'll text you the address. I'll see you then!"_

"_I'll see you then. Goodbye Cosima."_

"_Bye"_

The line clicks and Cosima continues to hold the phone to her ear a little bit longer before slowly bringing her hand (and phone) down to her stomach to rest.

The next school day passes in a blur and before Cosima knows it, she's waiting at the bar fifteen minutes early waiting for her da- _friend._ Waiting for her _friend_, to arrive. Since she was so nervous she ordered a glass of water but immediately felt guilty for ordering before and took a sip. After her quick drink she pushed her glass to the guy sitting next to her and kept her eyes focused on the door. She feels her mouth going dry as the door opens and closes as strangers go in and out. she turns to take another drink and as she's drinking she feels a tap on her shoulder.

Immediately she turns back around and looks up and into a pair of brown eyes.

They were not, however, the eyes she expected. They weren't deep and beautiful. They weren't anything like the pair she saw that first day or the day at the coffee shop. Not even any other day with Delphine. Instead she was met with muddy and glossy eyes. Almost the same ones she sees every time she's on break duty. Or the ones she sees attached to the sprawled out body when she enters the teachers lounge. Her face changed from excited to extremely disappointed when she sees the dirty grin that belongs to Donnie Hendrix (or now Chubbs).

"_Noooo way no way this isn't happening."_

"_Oh you know it is though."_

"_No, you aren't supposed to be here. You're supposed to live south of the school not north. You're not even remotely close to your house."_

"_Too bad Niehaus. It looks like you and I are gonna have to do some dirty dancing tonight."_

He backs up and slides his feet across the floor as he makes an attempt at moonwalking. He curls his finger to motion to her to follow but she scoffs and turns back around.

"_You're missing out on all the good stuff ! The sooner you come over the better it'll be."_

"_You know what Donnie? You can keep saying that creepy shit but once I tell you to can it, you better be quiet."_

He laughs and finds a young blonde that's just as drunk as he is and starts grinding on her from behind and almost falls over in the process. Cosima laughs at him and makes a mental note to bring it up later. She turns back to her water when she feels a hand on her back. She starts turning to slap away his hand.

"_Donnie I swea-"_

She stops mid sentence when she sees the brown eyes she's been looking for. The brown eyes that are framed by the perfectly curled blonde hair. The brown eyes that Cosima could look into for hours and still not get enough of them. The very same eyes that Cosima swears she's gotten lost in before. She smiles and the view in front of her and offers Delphine a seat.

She accepts sets her handbag on the counter.

Despite the fact that the building is poorly lit, Cosima is perfectly fine managing of the sparkle in Delphine's eyes.

"_So...I'm just warning you but Donnie is here. I'm kinda really hoping he'll stay out of our way."_

"_Yes that'd be nice. I was looking forward to it just being the two of us."_

"_Yeah...me too"_

Cosima smiles and they start talking.

Nearly an hour and a half passed before Donnie decided to approach the two of them. He must've gone to the park for a bit to harass teenagers that were loitering.

Cosima only had a three beers and she's already giggling uncontrollably. Delphine had a bit more to drink herself and was just the same as Cosima. Their heads were close together as they laughed over something anyone sober would've shrugged off.

Donnie came up from behind Delphine and turned her head to place a wet kiss on her cheek. That was obviously the wrong move. Despite the fact that Cosima was gone for a bit, she definitely came back after seeing that. She hopped off the stool and stood in front of Donnie, trying to make herself seem as big as possible.

"_Calm dOWn it was jUst a little kiSs"_

"_She didn't ask for it."_

"_It doesn't matter she's fine, she's not upset" _

"_Donnie I swear. Apologize to her and then leave."_

"_WhAt if IIIIIIIII say nO."_

"_Donnie."_

"_NO"_

He loses himself in a fit of laughter and stumbles over his feet, trying to keep balance. Eventually he backs up against the bar for support so he doesn't fall over.

Cosima's blood boils and moves to stand in front of him again. Not knowing what to do in the moment, she flicks his forehead. He immediately stops laughing and stares at her. She realizes that may have not been the best thing to do and immediately thinks of something a bit better.

"_What the hell did you flick me fo-"_

He didn't have enough time to process what happened to him because before anyone knew it, he was flat on his back in the middle of the bar. Cosima dropped her broken beer bottle and replaced it with Delphine's hand as they ran out of the bar and down a block to the park.

As they came to a stop they bent over and spent the next six minutes laughing until their stomachs hurt and tears started falling from their eyes. They sat down by the swings on a small hill and rested back on their elbows. Cosima was gasping for air from laughing so hard and tipped over onto Delphine causing them to fall drop a few inches to the ground. Cosima stopped laughing when she realized her head was resting on Delphine's chest and Delphine had her hand on her arm. Cosima looked up with hopeful eyes and took a deep breath. She looked back and up at the night sky. She saw the stars and the twinkling from the planes passing overhead.

Little to Cosima's knowledge, Delphine looked at the moon and down at Cosima who seemed to be distracted by the sky in general. Delphine slowly took a deep breath in , trying not to draw attention, and let it out. She looked at the moon and wondered if it got jealous of how bright Cosima's smile is.

After ten minutes ,give or take a few, Cosima sat up and picked at the grass. She coughed and then cleared her throat before looking up at the sky and moved her lips as she talked to herself for a quick moment. When she looked up she scratched her temple and then looked down again. She coughed one more time as she picked a few pieces of grass and then throwing them in front of her.

"_I really like you."_

Cosima held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut. It was quiet and that scared her. She wasn't sure if she should turn around or not and thought about it for a minute. Eventually she turned around and looked at Delphine. She let out the air from her lungs when she saw a small smile.

"_Cosima,"_


	6. Chapter 6:If Only The Cat Got Her Tongue

_**Chapter 6: If Only The Cat Got Her Tongue**_

" _Cosima,"_

The aforementioned didn't notice the large smile that was making its way across her face. She didn't mind showing her excitement, she just would've preferred to keep her cool a bit more.

Delphine sat up and placed one hand softly on Cosima's arm. She pulled her into a hug that was rather awkward due to the fact they were both sitting. She rested her head on her shoulder and whispered into her ear.

"_I am so sorry…"_

Cosima is sure her heart stopped and she felt all the air rush out of her lungs as she felt her stomach plummet. She sat there with her lips parted slightly and took in and released shaky breaths. Her eyes started to sting from trying to hold back the tears. She looked down at the ground in front of her and she quickly tried to find something to focus on but there was nothing that was enough to distract her from the pain she felt.

And just like that, Delphine stood up and walked away from her. She walked all the way back to the bar without looking back once.

She sat there staring at a park bench until her phone read 12:14 am. She clumsily picked herself up and dragged her feet across the grass to the sidewalk. She got halfway back to the bar before she gave up and sat down at the bustop. It wasn't till after she took a seat did she realize there was a homeless woman sleeping on the other end. Cosima watched her for a bit and looked at what she owned. She had her cart that held a small dog cage (maybe for a chihuahua) that was filled with old shoes. The handle had a few water jugs hanging from it and sitting on top of the cage there was a box and it was filled with bottles. She leaned over a bit to get a better look and she noticed half of them were empty and the remaining twelve were filled with beer. Cosima returned to her original position and thought about taking two or three bottles. She was already out of it and she didn't see what a few more would do. She stood up and immediately tripped over the foot of the bench. She looked back and muttered something under her breath. She slowly reached into the box and took three bottles and ran back the park.

She dropped two bottles into the wood chips and stood on a swing. Cosima opened the other one with a bolt sticking out of the post and started drinking away the heartbreak. By the time she had finished half the bottle she was nearly falling off the swing so she decided to move herself. She picked up the second bottle and climbed the play ladder and went down the slide and sat there at the bottom.

Twenty five minutes later all three bottles were empty and you could hear small snores coming from between Cosima's lips. To say the least she's never had that much to drink.

She feels something wet; Something wet on her face. Something wet that's not supposed to be across her forehead and upper lip. She opens her eyes and looking down at her are four kids. One child in particular, a girl around the age of 6 with long black hair, puts another thing on her face. Cosima stares at the girl for a moment. As the two watch each other, a boy to her right pokes her in the stomach with a stick and runs off with two others. The girl and Cosima continue to look at each other before her small voice tells Cosima "_There are worms on your face" _and runs off. As soon as what the girl said processed, Cosima sits upright and watches as six worms fall into her lap. She springs up and wipes them off and looks around for her purse.

Eventually she finds it and as she's walking out of the park she reaches up and feels around and takes another worm off her forehead and places it in a planter.

She returns to the bus stop where she took the bottles from the woman and sits down on an empty bench. She goes to look at the time but her screen won't light up.

"_Damn it...dead."_

She groans and puts her phone back in her bag and stands as she sees the bus nearing. It comes to a stop in front of her and the doors open. She looks and notices there's only two other people in the bus. An elderly gentleman with a bag of groceries sitting to his left and flowers in his right hand. He's smiling and looking out the little boy is maybe 12 or 13 and he's got earbuds in as he plays a game on his phone.

Cosima sits down at the back of the bus but doesn't sit still for long before she gets up and sits across from the kid.

"_Hey"_

He looks up

"_Can I borrow your phone for a sec?"_

"_Can I touch your boob?"_

She laughs and gives him an amused look.

"_Excuse you? Who-"_

She reaches over and grabs his phone from his hands

"_taught you your manners?"_

She closes out of the game and opens up call and punches in a number.

"_Hello? Who is this?"_

"_It's me"_

" _This isn't your phone Cos, whose is this?"_

"_I'm on the bus I borrowed some kids phone after he asked to touch my boob. I didn't call to talk about my bus adventures though I kinda really need someone to talk to."_

"_Well did you flick him or someth-"_

"_No, Sarah I didn't flick him I didn't think of it can you focus please."_

"_If it's that serious wouldn't you want me to come over instead of talking to you while you're on public transportation with a weird kid probably staring at you."_

She looks up and Sarah was right, the boy is staring at her.

"_If you would let me talk you'd know."_

"_okay...sorry what's up."_

"_Yeah...I need you to come over. Are you close?"_

"_Not really but I'll hurry."_

"_Thanks. See you."_

"_Yeah."_

She hangs up and hands the kid his phone.

"_Now can I touch your boob?"_

The bus comes to a stop down the street from her apartment. She stands up and looks at him.

"_Stop asking, you're probably never gonna touch one."_

She flicks his forehead and walks off and down the street.

She unlocks her door and drops her bags on her desk and shuffles to the bathroom. She turns on the light and looks at herself. She wonders why the kid asked her when she looks like a racoon. She tastes the alcohol still in her mouth and decides to brush her teeth.

After she finishes she lays down on her bed for twenty minutes before she hears a knock on her door.

"_Cosima it's me"_

"_Come in it's unlocked."_

Looking like she hasn't slept (or showered) in days, Sarah walks in and takes off her shoes. She makes her way to Cosimas bed and sits on it leaning against the backboard.

"_Talk to me."_


End file.
